John Edwards Reportedly Named In Investigation Of Alleged 'Millionaire Madam' Anna Gristina

Source: Huffington Post

MANHATTAN ó A call girl working for alleged "Millionaire Madam" Anna Gristina told investigators she was paid to have sex with former U.S. Sen. John Edwards when he was in New York raising money for his failed presidential bid, DNAinfo has learned.

Edwards is the first big name to surface in connection to Gristina's alleged prostitution scheme run out of an Upper East Side apartment.

Edwards' lawyer declined to comment on when reached Wednesday. On Thursday morning, his attorneys issued a statement to Politico and other news outlets saying their client "categorically" denied the allegation. Later Thursday morning, DNAinfo was contacted by Edwards attorney Abbe Lowell demanding a retraction.

2. I no longer boast about how good a judge of character I am because of this man.

10. fooled me too. I will never give my trust so willingly to a politician again.

I chalk it up to wanting so much to believe to the narrative of JE as a tender, loving husband to Elizabeth, standing by her in her time of need. The warm, caring family man. The fighter for the poor. The guy who would fight the insurance companies tooth and nail on behalf of health care for everybody.

Ever since JE was unmasked for the bastard he is, I have encountered DU folks just like you and me who "trusted" too. And I just read Rebecca Traister's new book "Big Girls Don't Cry" (about Hillary's campaign). Traister is a young activist who initially was for JE, fooled just like us, before finding her way to supporting Hillary. It took me back to my CT primary before the 08 election. JE had dropped out and I voted for Hillary...

9. Edwards always struck me as being a tad too slick.

As usual, it's not the sin that grates, but the hypocrisy. In the 90s he was one of a few Democratic politicians to point an accusatory finger at Bill Clinton.

I also remember in 2007 Elizabeth giving an interview to a magazine and saying that her life choices had made her more "joyful" than Hillary's choices. I thought at the time that it was a pretty presumptuous comment. Iím not even sure if some of the choices Iíve made are good for me. How could I judge someone elseís choices? Shortly after that interview John became involved with Rielle Hunter.

Edwards turned out to be a disappointment to his wife, family and supporters.

13. I suspect he is a sociopath.

27. Sadly, no

He's glib and selfish in his personal life. But the fact is that he shows remorse and embarrasment for his screw ups. He might have a big whopping ego, but he lacks the telltale signs of clinical sociopathy.

I can't go into the details for reasons I can't disclose, but, leave it said that I've known more than a few genuine sociopaths in my time. Senator Edwards does not in the same "rogue's gallery." Hmm, perhaps I've said too much.

17. You can add to that the fact that Elizabeth mischaracterized her own choices

Like Hillary, she worked as a lawyer when her two older kids were young. In fact, where Hillary (if she felt the need) could argue that she needed to work for the family to have the money to afford a better lifestyle and college for Chelsea. In addition, although she was "not working" with the younger two, she actually was "working" on his Senate and 2 Presidential campaigns - added up, that was a significant percent of their lifetime.

I suspect that the campaign pushed her to make those comments in an effort to hurt Clinton, while helping their campaign. Whoever came up with it, it backfired.

If you look at the speeches made by the Democratic Senators, they ALL criticized Clinton for his actions with Monica and his dishonesty under oath. In fact, all their speeches could be abstracted as ( why what BC did was wrong) (mitigating circumstances) (why it did not raise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors.) Edwards was no different and he was one of the Senators selected to defend Clinton. (The Edwards campaign idea that he somehow "saved" BC is nonsense. It was a party line vote and more than half the Democrats spoke before him.)

18. Elizabeth made more than once similar remarks.

I wonder if at some level she envied Hillary. After all, she had achieved a position in public life that few could aspire: first lady, senator and at that point presidential candidate.

Regardless, all that pales when compared to her health struggles and the pain caused by John. It is so sad that she had to have so much stress at a time when her life was ending. She deserved to have peace in her last year of life. That is why what John did is so egregious. The world is full of cheating men, but the peace of mind that he took from his dying wife is what people find hard to forgive.

21. This service was actually benign from what I understand

No slavery, abusive pimping, trafficking or anything like that. Just arranging for consenting adults to engage in activities. Complete use of state resources to even deal with it, though learning of the clients is always a little amusing.

22. It some degree of excess in ego to run for president

But this guy thought he could do it and behave like a scum bag without getting caught. Post - Clinton, anyone running for that nomination who is truly committed to serving their country would do everything they possibly could to avoid any possibility of dirt coming up to trash their campaign.

I never warmed up to him, but he betrayed so many of my friends. He deserves all the damage that comes with these dripping revelations. Who knows what else is out there....

30. I'll take that

I will never forget a piece from "Dreams From My Father." Obama had just given a speech on apartheid and swore it was the last he would ever give.
His friend told him he did well and questioned why he would say that. He went on to say "Pretty words don't make it so. So, why do I pretend otherwise? I'll tell you why. Because it makes me feel important. Because I like applause. It gives me a nice cheap thrill." He thought it should only be about the issue\goal. That was before he became a community organizer\politician and truly looked into the possibility of making a difference.
The fact that he questioned the egomania possible when gaining public attention when he was in his early 20s says a lot to me about who he is.
He has confidence in himself and abilities, but made an early conscious decision that he doesn't want it to be just about him.

31. It's also bullshit

Maybe he's only loved three women, but it's hard to tell how he loved them, given his behavior towards them, at least the first two. Maybe he's only loved three, but I bet he fucked plenty of others while he was with them.

Every time this happens, there are more women that could come forward. It's remarkable that so few do.